Mumbai: It was a sad occasion inside Wankhede stadium, as thousands of fans wept as Sachin Tendulkar wiped off tears from his eyes after taking his last bow from cricket.
The cricket icon was taken on his last lap round the stadium by his teammates on shoulders, with Sachin proudly holding the Indian tricolour.
Sachin, with a hoarse voice, addressed his fans praising his father Ramesh Tendulkar, who had been his guiding spirit.
He also praised his wife Anjali, who was weeping as Sachin spoke words in praise of his wife.
Sachin Tendulkar said: "I request all of you to please stop otherwise I will get more and more emotional. My life for the last 24 years has been a wonderful journey which is now coming to an end. I will like to take this opportunity to talk about those persons who played an important role in my life.
"The most important man in my life, whom I lost in 1999 has been my father without whom I would not have been where I am today. He gave me freedom from the age of 13 and told me to chase my dream, but to never take shortcuts in life. Whenever I used to raise my bat to the sky, it was for my father."
Turning to his wife Anjali, Sachin Tendulkar said: "The other great person in my life has been my wife Anjali since 1990. All these years with her have been special. When we decided to have a family, it was Anjali, who left her profession as a doctor and told me, you continue to play cricket and I will look after the family."
Thousands of fans were seen weeping in the stands as Sachin made his farewell remarks and took a victory lap round the stadium.
